Internship Scheme a wasted opportunity – Ó Domhaill

The Minister for Social Protection has missed an opportunity for a wide-reaching, high quality National Internship Scheme which has real results for thousands of unemployed people in Donegal and across the country, according to Donegal Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill.

Senator Ó Domhnaill has welcomed the initiative announced by Minister Joan Burton, but has said that it is a less ambitious version of the internship scheme announced by the previous Government in December.

Senator Ó Domhnaill commented, “Minister Burton is certainly on the right track with this internship scheme but I believe it just doesn’t go far enough. It seems to me that the scheme announced today is simply a rehash of the one announced in the last Budget, except the terms are less favourable.

“Participants in Minister Burton’s scheme will get €50 a week, instead of the €100 offered by Fianna Fáil in December’s budget. The duration of the internships has also been cut from a maximum of a year, to just 6 to 9 months.

“It is disappointing that the Minister didn’t set a higher target for the number of participants in this scheme. An initiative like this is a win-win for both participants and employers. The interns will gain valuable experience while employers will benefit from their skills and from simply having more hands on deck. I would like to see more than just 5,000 people directly benefiting from this.

“I am urging people who are on the Live Register in Donegal to investigate the opportunities that this scheme provides for them to allow them return to the jobs market,” concluded Ó Domhnaill.